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The central argument put forth in defense of the 17 Uighurs detained at Gitmo is that their principal enemy is China, not the U.S.

This defense ignores a host of troublingfacts including that: (a) all of the Uighur detainees are members or associates of the ETIM/TIP (a U.S. and UN designated al Qaeda-affiliate), (b) at least 8 current Uighur detainees have admitted their relationship with Abdul Haq (a member of al Qaeda's elite Shura Council), who oversaw their training (c) most of the Uighurs were trained at a terrorist camp in Tora Bora - a stronghold for al Qaeda and the Taliban, (d) their organization has targeted civilians and fought alongside Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere, (e) their organization has reportedly targeted American interests (the U.S. embassy in Kyrgyzstan in 2002), as well as a variety of other pieces of evidence.

In short, the Uighur detainees at Gitmo had all the signs of being committed jihadists with demonstrable ties to al Qaeda, and not just Chinese separatists, prior to their detention by American forces.

No matter, the Uighurs' defenders argue, releasing them in the U.S. or elsewhere should be no cause of concern because they only have China in their crosshairs.

Well, the Uighur detainees have now complicated their own cases even further. FOX News reports that they staged a mini-protest for the media at Gitmo. They held up signs that read: